Will Allan, 24

Allan first attracted attention when he appeared in "The History Boys" at TimeLine Theatre, a production that launched several Chicago careers. But he caught our eye this past season in Edward Albee's "The Goat" at Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, playing an emotionally unstable teenager whose mother had recently discovered that her husband was in love with a goat. "This really was one of those roles where you are thrilled that you can't relate to it," Allan says, dryly. But you would never have known that from his powerful, on-the-edge performance. Allan grew up in a happy home, he says, in Frankfort, Ky., and came to the Chicago area to go to college at North Central College in Naperville. Handsome and capable of uncommonly sensitive and energetic acting, he's already well known to top casting directors. "This really was my first chance to go for it in a very dramatic role," he says. "I could really take risks." WHERE TO SEE HIM: Playing Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet," through Aug. 7 at First Folio Theatre in Oak Brook

Allan first attracted attention when he appeared in "The History Boys" at TimeLine Theatre, a production that launched several Chicago careers. But he caught our eye this past season in Edward Albee's "The Goat" at Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, playing an emotionally unstable teenager whose mother had recently discovered that her husband was in love with a goat. "This really was one of those roles where you are thrilled that you can't relate to it," Allan says, dryly. But you would never have known that from his powerful, on-the-edge performance. Allan grew up in a happy home, he says, in Frankfort, Ky., and came to the Chicago area to go to college at North Central College in Naperville. Handsome and capable of uncommonly sensitive and energetic acting, he's already well known to top casting directors. "This really was my first chance to go for it in a very dramatic role," he says. "I could really take risks." WHERE TO SEE HIM: Playing Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet," through Aug. 7 at First Folio Theatre in Oak Brook (Brian Cassella)

Allan first attracted attention when he appeared in "The History Boys" at TimeLine Theatre, a production that launched several Chicago careers. But he caught our eye this past season in Edward Albee's "The Goat" at Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, playing an emotionally unstable teenager whose mother had recently discovered that her husband was in love with a goat. "This really was one of those roles where you are thrilled that you can't relate to it," Allan says, dryly. But you would never have known that from his powerful, on-the-edge performance. Allan grew up in a happy home, he says, in Frankfort, Ky., and came to the Chicago area to go to college at North Central College in Naperville. Handsome and capable of uncommonly sensitive and energetic acting, he's already well known to top casting directors. "This really was my first chance to go for it in a very dramatic role," he says. "I could really take risks." WHERE TO SEE HIM: Playing Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet," through Aug. 7 at First Folio Theatre in Oak BrookBrian Cassella